Timeline of sustainable energy research 2020 to the present

This article is missing information about most timeline sections. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (June 2021)

Part of a series on
Sustainable energy
Energy conservation Arcology Building insulation Cogeneration Eco hotel Efficient energy use Energy storage Environmental planning Environmental technology Fossil fuel phase-out Green building Green building and wood Heat pump List of low-energy building techniques Low-energy house Microgeneration Sustainable architecture Sustainable city Sustainable habitat Sustainable refurbishment Thermal energy storage Tropical green building Zero-energy building Zero heating building
Renewable energy Biofuel Sustainable Biogas Biomass Carbon-neutral fuel Geothermal Hydropower Hydroelectricity Marine energy Tidal Renewable energy transition Renewable heat Solar Wave Wind
Sustainable transport Green vehicle Electric vehicle Bicycle Solar vehicle Wind-powered vehicle Hybrid vehicle Human-electric Twike Plug-in Human-powered transport Helicopter Hydrofoil Land vehicle Bicycle Cycle rickshaw Kick scooter Quadracycle Tricycle Velomobile Roller skating Skateboarding Walking Watercraft Personal transporter Rail transport Tram Rapid transit Personal rapid transit
Category Renewable energy portal
v t e

This is a timeline of notable events in the research and development of sustainable energy including renewable energy, solar energy and nuclear fusion energy, particularly for ways that are sustainable within the Earth system.

Events of new goal-codifying policy about, commercialization of, adoptions of and dissemination of sustainable energy technologies and infrastructure/systems as well as of related phase-outs and electricity-usage technologies – such as in transport – are not included in the timeline.

Research and development of (technical) means to reduce need for energy beyond smart grids and conventional improvements of energy efficiency.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020)

• Solar cell efficiency of perovskite solar cells have increased from 3.8% in 2009^[1] to 25.2% in 2020 in single-junction architectures,^[2] and, in silicon-based tandem cells, to 29.1%,^[2] exceeding the maximum efficiency achieved in single-junction silicon solar cells.^{[additional citation(s) needed]}

• 6 March – Scientists show that adding a layer of perovskite crystals on top of textured or planar silicon to create a tandem solar cell enhances its performance up to a power conversion efficiency of 26%. This could be a low cost way to increase efficiency of solar cells.^[3][4]

• 13 July – The first global assessment into promising approaches of solar photovoltaic modules recycling is published. Scientists recommend "research and development to reduce recycling costs and environmental impacts compared to disposal while maximizing material recovery" as well as facilitation and use of techno–economic analyses.^[5][6]

• 3 July – Scientists show that adding an organic-based ionic solid into perovskites can result in substantial improvement in solar cell performance and stability. The study also reveals a complex degradation route that is responsible for failures in aged perovskite solar cells. The understanding could help the future development of photovoltaic technologies with industrially relevant longevity.^{[7][8][importance?]}

• 12 April – Scientists develop a prototype and design rules for both-sides-contacted silicon solar cells with conversion efficiencies of 26% and above, Earth's highest for this type of solar cell.^{[9][10][importance?]}

• 7 May – Researchers address a key problem of perovskite solar cells by increasing their stability and long-term reliability with a form of "molecular glue".^{[11][12][importance?]}

• 21 May – The first industrial commercial production line of perovskite solar panels, using an inkjet printing procedure, is launched in Poland.^[13]

• 13 December – Researchers report the development of a database and analysis tool about perovskite solar cells which systematically integrates over 15,000 publications, in particular device-data about over 42,400 of such photovoltaic devices.^[14][15]

• 16 December – ML System from Jasionka, Poland, opens first quantum glass production line. The factory started the production of windows integrating a transparent quantum-dots layer that can produce electricity while also capable of cooling buildings.^{[16][importance?]}

• 30 May - A team at Fraunhofer ISE led by Frank Dimroth developed a 4-junction solar cell with an efficiency of 47.6% - a new world record for solar energy conversion.^{[17][importance?]}

• 13 July – Researchers report the development of semitransparent solar cells that are as large as windows,^[18] after team members achieved record efficiency with high transparency in 2020.^[19][20] On 4 July, researchers report the fabrication of solar cells with a record average visible transparency of 79%, being nearly invisible.^[21][22]

• 9 December – Researchers report the development of 3D-printed flexible paper-thin organic photovoltaics.^{[23][24][importance?]}
• 19 December – A new world record solar cell efficiency for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell is achieved, with scientists in Germany converting 32.5% of sunlight into electrical energy.^{[25][importance?]}

• 12 March – Scientists demonstrate the first monolithically integrated tandem solar cell using selenium as the photoabsorbing layer in the top cell, and silicon as the photoabsorbing layer in the bottom cell.^[26]

• 2020
  • Assembly of ITER, which has been under construction for years, commences.^[27]
  • The Chinese experimental nuclear fusion reactor HL-2M is turned on for the first time, achieving its first plasma discharge.^[28]
• 2021
  • [Record] China's EAST tokamak sets a new world record for superheated plasma, sustaining a temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds and a peak of 160 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.^[29]
  • [Record] The National Ignition Facility achieves generating 70% of the input energy, necessary to sustain fusion, from inertial confinement fusion energy, an 8x improvement over previous experiments in spring 2021 and a 25x increase over the yields achieved in 2018.^[30]
  • The first Fusion Industry Association report was published - "The global fusion industry in 2021"^[31]
  • [Record] China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), a nuclear fusion reactor research facility, sustained plasma at 70 million degrees Celsius for as long as 1,056 seconds (17 minutes, 36 seconds), achieving the new world record for sustained high temperatures (fusion energy however requires i.a. temperatures over 150 million °C).^[32][33][34]
• 2022
  • [Record] The Joint European Torus in Oxford, UK, reports 59 megajoules produced with nuclear fusion over five seconds (11 megawatts of power), more than double the previous record of 1997.^[35][36]
  • [Record] United States researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California has recorded the first case of ignition on August 8, 2021. Producing an energy yield of 0.72, of laser beam input to fusion output.^[37][38]
  • [Record] Building on the achievement in August 2022, American researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California recorded the first ever net energy production with nuclear fusion, producing more fusion energy than laser beam put in. Laser efficiency was in the order of 1%.^[39]
• 2023
  • [Record] On February 15, 2023, Wendelstein 7-X reached a new milestone: Power plasma with gigajoule energy turnover generated for eight minutes.^[40]
  • JT-60SA achieves first plasma in October, making it the largest operational superconducting tokamak in the world.^[41]
• 2024
  • The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) achieved the new record of 102-sec-long operation (Integrated RMP control for ELM-less H-mode with a notable advancement on the favorable control the error field,^[42] Tungsten divertor) with the achieved duration of 48 seconds at the high-temperature of about 100 million degrees Celsius in February 2024, after the last record of 45-sec-long operation (ELM-less H-mode (FIRE mode^[43]), Carbon-based divertor, 2022). See "핵융합 플라스마 장기간 운전기술 확보 청신호, 보도자료, KSTAR연구본부" (in Korean). 20 March 2024. and "[공식발표] 한국 인공태양 KSTAR 또 해냈다! "1억도○○ 초?"". YouTube (in Korean). (21 March 2024).

2024 in science
2023 2025
Fields
Archaeology Space
Technology
Sustainable energy research Computing Transportation technology
Social sciences
Psychology Governance and policy studies
Paleontology
Paleoanthropology Dinosaurs' extinction
Extraterrestrial environment
Spaceflight Discovered exoplanets Asteroid close approaches
Terrestrial environment
Environment and environmental sciences Climate change Tornado research
Other/related
Literature Philosophy Timeline of cosmological theories List of open letters by academics History of technology by type List of science timelines
v t e

• Energy development
• Timeline of materials technology
• Timeline of computing 2020–present
• Timeline of rail transport
• Outline of energy